Interest in wearable head-mounted display systems for general consumers is increasing, with multiple models in production. However, their effect on vision is largely unknown. Peripheral visual field is a main component of vision and essential for daily activities such as driving, pedestrian safety, and sports. 

Testing of study participants who wore head-mounted display systems (Google Glass) found that the head-mounted display created a partial peripheral vision obstruction, according to a study performed by Tsontcho Ianchulev, M.D., M.P.H., of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues which was published in the November 5 issue of JAMA.

The problem is not limited to Google Glass and head-mounted (hands-free) displays. Conventional spectacle frames can reduce visual field, sometimes causing absolute blind spots, and head­ mounted devices have even more pronounced frames, according to background information in the article.

Boeing is exploring how employees could use smart glasses equipped with APX Labs’ Skylight platform for hands-free, real-time access to engineering specifications and complex assembly instructions. Read the post on APX Labs’ blog to learn more.

Intel has funded a virtual-reality goggles company, a firm that uses drones to collect aerial data, and mobile audio and video companies, as part of its quest beyond the realm of traditional chips.

The $62 million in investments for 16 tech companies, unveiled Tuesday during Intel Capital’s annual global conference in Huntington Beach, Calif., comes a few weeks after Intel’s investment arm revealed $28 million in investments in several Chinese companies. Separately, Intel on Monday named the winner of its new “Make It Wearable” challenge, meant to spark innovations using its new Edison chip. Nixie, which makes a flying wearable camera, won the $500,000 grand prize.

Intel Capital expects to reach $355 million in total investments this year, adding to more than $11 billion it’s invested since 1991.

The latest funding highlights Intel’s recent focus on wearables, eye-tracking technology and mobile, as the world’s largest chipmaker works to expand its business beyond PCs, which have lost appeal as more consumers opt for smartphones and tablets. Intel makes the vast majority of its profits from PC and data-center chips, so now needs to find new places to grow.

In this post the author goes into detail not provided in prior coverage of the use of Augmented Reality by Israeli utility firm, Mekorot. The CEO of FieldBit, the company that has performed an analysis of the different hands-free display platforms, offers his views. The take home message is that being able to link enterprise data to a visualization system is a high priority for many projects and programs.

Mekorot field workers will use the Moverio BT-200 and FieldBit app to “perform complicated, high-risk tasks, such as repairing and maintaining high-tension electrical circuits at Mekorot’s water processing facilities around Israel,” said Evyatar Meron, CEO of FieldBit. To learn more, read about the use case.

Using retroreflective projection technology, Augmented Reality can create a “transparent cockpit” in a vehicle. To learn more about the use of AR to increase safety, read the article in IEEE Spectrum.

Development is well underway on the Scubus S, a diving mask that integrates a flashlight, a video camera, a heads-up display and a diver-to-diver communication system into its waterproof housing. It is designed to make diving safer, as well as more fun.  Soon to go to the crowdfunding stage, the Scubus S integrates basic capture and display technologies while putting an underwater spin on communications. This product could be valuable for use cases in oil and gas, drilling and mining and underwater energy system maintenance.

Despite research results described in an AREA blog post, shown in the Columbia University video and many great demonstrations, experts at Heartwood are not entirely convinced that AR is ready for prime time. It’s healthy to hear the concerns of those who are not convinced that AR can be used in production environments today. Watch the Columbia University and ScopeAR videos and read the Heartwood blog post about the benefits and risks of using AR in training today. Is this pessimistic position due to the fact that the company does not currently offer AR-assisted training?

Surgeons are tweaking existing computer technologies to enhance their visualization of cancerous tumors and persistent wounds according to two studies presented this week at the 2014 American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress.

One research team tested the visualization of simulated breast tumors using three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound imaging and specially designed, Augmented Reality-assisted software that allows the surgeon to pinpoint the tumor and measure its volume, including its depth. The other team employed a new 3D sensor and computer algorithms on a tablet computer and machine learning—a type of artificial intelligence—for the first time allowing surgeons to precisely measure the area, depth, and tissue type of chronic wounds with a mobile device.

These high-tech imaging techniques, according to their developers, are more accurate than standard methods.

Ford Motor tapped Israeli startup Mishor 3D to bring augmented reality navigation systems to its future car models. Read the full article.